Nov. 6, 2015
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The South Carolina swimming and diving team program resumed Southeastern Conference action on Friday afternoon when they faced nationally-ranked Florida on the road at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla. The men’s team fell to the Gators, 178-115, while the Gamecock women lost by a score of 165.5-126.5.
Multiple Gamecocks tallied individual victories in Friday’s event, including men’s junior diver Jordan Gotro. The Sacramento, Calif., native, who earned SEC Male Diver of the Week honors last month (Oct. 27), posted the top score (399.75) in the 3-meter and finished second in the 1-meter after totaling 316.35 points. Sophomore Lyle Markman registered fifth-place finishes in both diving events.
On the swimming side, the men’s team boasted two 1-2 finishes late in the meet. Sophomore Kevin Leithold won the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 45.10 seconds, as he edged out Jonathan Boland, who finished second (45.56). The result marked the second strong showing of the day for Boland, who set a new personal best (20.82) in the 50-yard freestyle.
The Gamecocks claimed the top two spots in the men’s 200-yard breaststroke when Nils Wich-Glasen won the race after swimming it in 2:02.44. Freshman Phillip Wilett didn’t finish far behind, as he settled for second with a time of 2:02.54.
South Carolina finished the meet strong, tallying 11 points after finishing the final race (400-yard freestyle relay) in 3:13.11. The other notable swim on the men’s side came from sophomore Akaram Madmoud, who posted South Carolina’s fastest time (9:02.64) this season in the 1000-yard freestyle with his second-place finish in the event.
Sophomore diver Julia Vincent and freshman swimmer Paige Maynard both turned in strong performances to pace the Gamecocks on the women’s side. Vincent finished second (312.01) in the 3-meter and earned runner-up honors in the 1-meter with a score of 272.93. Fellow sophomore Lauren Lamendola also boasted a strong day on the boards, as she boasted a pair of third-place honors.
Maynard topped all swimmers in 100-yard butterfly, swimming it in 55.91 seconds and she was part of the South Carolina team that finished second (1:45.96) in the 200-yard medley relay. The Vacaville, Calif., native also tallied a second-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:00.94.
In the final women’s event of the afternoon, the 400-yard freestyle relay, juniors Caroline Petrone and Cooper Brown teamed up with senior Ashleigh Ferguson and junior Taylor Vincent to finish the race in 3:33.03 and earn the Gamecocks 11 points.
QUOTABLE
South Carolina Head Swimming Coach McGee Moody
We had the opportunity to step up and race one of the best teams in the country today. They showed why they’re one of the best, and they put their best lineup forward. We had a good meet from a time perspective. We had some of our best times of the season, and I was really proud of our performance. We had some giid individual efforts, and I was happy to see that today.”
South Carolina Head Diving Coach Todd Sherritt
It’s always a difficult pool to compete in down there. We did okay on the 1-meter, and we had a much better showing in the 3-meter. We weren’t at our best, but I did see some good things out there. Jordan did a great job on the 3-meter. It was a challenge for us, and it served as a learning experience.
UP NEXT
The Gamecocks are back in action later this month for the Georgia Tech Invitational in Atlanta, Ga. The three-day event gets underway on Thursday, Nov. 19.
“There’s nothing that should catch us off guard as we head into the Georgia Tech Invitational,” Coach Moody said. “We’re going to be able to race some good teams again, and we will put out best foot forward after a couple of weeks of training.”
